Subroto Cup Football Tournament is an interschool football tournament in India. The tournament was named after Indian Air Force Air Marshal Subroto Mukherjee.
Subroto Mukherjee conceived the idea of launching the tournament in 1958 when he was the Chief of the Air Staff. Subroto Mukherjee Sports Education Society after his untimely death in Tokyo. The first tournament was held in 1960, where about fifty schools participated. The number of participating schools increased over the years. Since 1998, there are two age groups in the Subroto Cup tournament, the Sub junior groups (under 14 years) and the Junior Group (under 17 years).
The Subroto Cup is an interschool tournament that takes place in every state of India. The tournaments start at the sub-division, district and division level while the interschool finals occur at the state level. The school teams that win the state level inter school championship then take part in the main Subroto Mukherjee Cup Tournament at Delhi. The organisers of the Subroto Cup have started a new sub-junior (11-14 years) football tournament from the years of 1998, on request from the School Games Federations of India. A number of 16 teams took part in the first edition of the tournament and the number increased in the following editions.
The Subroto Cup competition is a knock out or league system tournament. It is played according to the laws and rules related to the Football Association and accepted and interpreted by the All India Football Federation (AIFF). The duration of this game is half an hour in each half with an interval of five minutes. When the match ends in a draw, extra time of seven minutes for each half and an interval of one minute is given to bring a result to the match. But in spite of the extra time if there is no result in the match the Tournament Committee directs the game to a Tie Breaker rule. This Subroto Mukherjee foundation has still the Chief of the Air Staff of India as its President.
The Subroto Cup gives cash prizes of rupees fifty thousand to the winners and rupees thirty thousand to the runner-up in the junior category and cash prizes of rupees thirty thousand and rupees twenty thousand respectively for the winners and runners in the sub junior categories. There are also cash prizes for the `best player` and the `most promising player`. All the players of winning team in both groups are awarded a bicycle. Also there are scheme for scholarships. The scholarship of Rs. Ten thousand per player is awarded to thirty players in junior group and of Rs. five thousand is awarded to sixteen players in the sub junior category.
List of the winners and runner-ups of the sub-junior tournament of Subroto Cup:
Year | Winner | Runner-Up | Year | Winner | Runner-Up |
1998 | SAIL High School, Bokaro, BIHAR | Electric Veng, Middle School, Aizawl, MIZORAM | 2003 | Holy Heart High School, Aizawl, MIZORAM | BANGLADESH Krira Shiksha Parishad |
1999 | All NEPAL Football Association Academy | Sri Kamlakar Choubey Adarsh Seva Vidyalaya, Inter-College, Varanasi, UTTAR PRADESH | 2004 | Gyanodaya Bal Batika Secondary Boarding School, Kathmandu, NEPAL | Air Force Bal Bharti School |
2000 | SAIL High School, Bokaro | Galaxy Public School, Kathmandu, NEPAL | 2005 | Army Boys Regimental School, Shillong, MEGHALAYA | Nobel Academy, Kathmandu, NEPAL |
2001 | St John Bosco Boy`s School, Sohra, MEGHALAYA | St Ignatius High School, Gumla, JHARKHAND | 2006 | Allied Co-Education School, Kathmandu; NEPAL | Government Model School, CHANDIGARH |
2002 | Holy Heart High School, Aizawl, MIZORAM | Namchi Sports School, SIKKIM | 2007 | SAI Centre, Lucknow; UTTAR PRADESH | Green Wood Higher Secondary School, Dimapur; NAGALAND |